


Recollection

by gilliandersob



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, On the Run, Pre-IWTB
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4120036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilliandersob/pseuds/gilliandersob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remembering the little things in a time of stress.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recollection

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place between The Truth and IWTB, in their first few days together on the run. Whenever I write about this time period (one of my favorites!), I always assume they drive at night and sleep during the day. 
> 
> I was inspired to write this little piece after watching a movie where a couple who had known each other for a long time before they even got together talked about tiny details they both remembered in the time they'd known each other. Things that meant a lot to them. This is what came of that. Enjoy!

Neither of them could sleep. The torrential rain sounded like it was made of large rocks as it pelted the roof of the tiny motel that had only six rooms to offer. They were off some route or highway in a random town Mulder found his way to in the darkness. Neither of them new or really cared to know the details. It was morning now, and finally they were able to relax for a few hours. Get off the road, think about things other than how much trouble they were actually in.

Scully sat straight as an arrow, legs folded underneath her on the worn mattress of the double bed. It was quiet, the sound of the rain drowned everything else out. The heavy curtains were drawn to keep light and prying eyes out, and the two former FBI agents sat in relative darkness. Scully stared at the wall straight ahead - Mulder wondered if she’d suddenly turned into a narcissist, or if she hadn’t realized she was staring straight at herself. The cheap mirror hanging on the wall held both their reflections. Scully’s eyes didn’t move an inch. Mulder took a deep breath, trying to relax into the musty pillow propping his upper body up. He was still tense from driving - both the rain an their situation had made his shoulders ache. Raising his arms up over his head to stretch, he caught Scully’s eyes following his movements in the mirror.

“You should try to get some sleep, Scully,” Mulder said at a near whisper. She didn’t turn her head, but he saw her give a small nod in response. 

“I know. I’m just thinking.” She turned toward him finally, and Mulder found himself relieved to see she didn’t appear upset or distressed. She was just...Scully. Her eyes were barely blue in the dark of the room. Mulder found them spooky. 

“Thinking about what?” he asked. He reached his hand out to her, hoping to coax her up to her side of the bed. She didn’t move at first, but soon pushed herself up to the pillow that awaited her. She rested on her right side, staring at Mulder, still with an unreadable expression.

Mulder realized he was almost afraid to hear her answer. He knew she was angry with him. She had to be, he thought. They’d been on the run for a few days. Every night they drove endlessly, and this small motel was their first stop since Mulder had sprinted to the car that held Scully and signified freedom. But this wasn’t freedom. They were already exhausted, unable to know who was friend and who was foe. Was the lady at the convenience store the other day an undercover agent? Were they going to awake from their slumber at this motel surrounded by blue lights, handcuffs slapped on their wrists, rights read? 

Mulder took a deep breath, was going to apologize - for the umpteenth time - but Scully cut him off.

“I was thinking about the time my family went on a short vacation to the beach one summer. It wasn’t long - my father was due to ship out again soon. We’d stayed at a small hotel a lot like this one.” 

Mulder wondered where she was going with this. He leaned his head against the unforgiving headboard and nodded slightly for her to continue. She blinked a few times and gave him a sad look.

“Missy and I - she was thirteen and I was eleven - had gotten our own room. It was the first time that had ever happened. We were so excited. We were allowed to walk down the street together to buy a few things from the general store. We got the usual - Cokes, popcorn, potato chips - we planned for this to be an all night affair.” 

Scully paused to chuckle lightly at something Mulder could only imagine. He waited patiently for her to continue, but she was staring at the mirror again.

“So...what happened? Was the party a success?” 

“Bill messed with us and ended it rather quickly. He rapped on the wall connecting our rooms to try and scare us. We ended up getting in trouble because the mirror fell and broke. The walls were paper-thin, obviously. Of course we were blamed. Not him.” 

Mulder smiled at her memory. He chewed his lip for a second before glancing at the mirror that had transfixed her again. He’d always relished Scully’s childhood memories - good and bad. He didn’t share much about his own, and he enjoyed living vicariously through them.

“So...Bill was a dick even then, huh?” he said riskily.

Scully swatted his arm and laughed. He joined her and he could feel the tension leaving his body. He watched as she swiped the hair from her face and turned to lay on her back. She was wearing his t-shirt - an old thing from years ago. It was worn and had a hole at the neckline. She fingered it with her left hand absentmindedly. 

“I’m sorry he wasn’t nicer to you. You didn’t deserve it, Mulder,” Scully said, drawing his name out at the end with a sigh. He knew she was tired, ready to sleep. He looked over at her. Eyes still open, her head had lolled closer to him. He reached his left hand over his body and brushed her hair. This simple act still gave him chills.

“That’s okay, Scully. Not like I don’t deserve it now...” 

The silence lingered, far longer than Mulder wanted it to. He nearly decided to shut his eyes once and for all, forget everything for awhile and sleep. Scully had other plans, thought. She nudged his shoulder to get his attention. He turned his head, eyes questioning. 

“We had good times, right?” 

Mulder’s eyebrows came together. He was confused by the question. Did she want a quick, ‘Yeah, of course!’ in reply? Or was she looking for something more meaningful. Reassurance, perhaps, that this was all worth it, that they weren’t going down a dead-end road with nothing to look forward to, that their entire career together hadn’t been the endless nightmare in sometimes appeared. Mulder thought back, and yes, at times it was hard. It was unimaginably difficult to live through. Sometimes it was even harder to look back on. He thought for a few minutes, leaving Scully to search the room with her eyes. 

Finally, he decided on an answer.

“I remember Skinner’s candy dish in his office, and how every time we’d go in there you’d snatch two pieces, one for each of us. You’d sneak mine into my hand in the elevator. It was like your own tiny way of rebelling.”

The crystal dish that held any number of brands of hard candies and gums usually sat untouched. Mulder was sure he’d eaten candy that was years old. He’d never seen anyone else go near it. But Scully - she couldn’t resist the temptation. He’d wondered after the first few times if he should get his own candy dish. It also occurred to him why Scully didn’t just bring her own. He soon realized, however, that she simply enjoyed the little act - it became kind of a tradition. 

Mulder felt good about his answer when he saw a genuine smile on her face. 

“Oh yeah! I miss those!” She laughed, her wide smile showing her teeth. This was a rarity, and it made Mulder’s stomach drop to his knees whenever it happened. Her top lip curled up slightly on one side, over her gum line. Her nose scrunched in the most endearing way. 

“My mother used to put a Hershey’s kiss in my lunchbox everyday I went to school. It was a little surprise I loved. I knew it would be there - a little token from Mom that said, ‘I love you!’”

It seemed like an unrelated memory until Mulder thought about it.

“I remember the time you took me to that Alien-themed diner. Then we stood on that hill and watched the lights. That was....such a weird little piece of time. I was still quite nervous on the job.” 

“ _You_ were nervous, Scully?” Mulder asked with a playful expression. “I had a spy on my hands.” Mulder eyed her, hoping she knew he was kidding. 

“I was _not_ a spy, Mulder!” she replied, that grin playing on her lips again. 

They laughed together. It felt so good; the room felt warm and they forgot where they were for a few minutes. The threats outside the motel room door dissipated only for a while. 

Mulder looked at the beside clock, scratching his cheek. It was already 10 a.m. 

“It’s time to sleep, Spy.” 

Scully was still laughing, her quick ‘shut up’ in response came out breathy and jumbled. She smoothed her shirt that had bunched just above her waist, and rolled back to her side facing Mulder. The room got quiet again, and Mulder noticed the rain had finally let up. 

They slept.


End file.
